Death and Damnation
by S. Whitaker
Summary: The Rikers Island Riots occur on Christmas Eve and FBI agent Raye Penber is sent a mysterious file on a convict on the loose. After killing Penber, Light Yagami receives the file and learns about a criminal that even the Death Note is incapable of bringing to justice. Hoping to thwart The Prince, Light gets caught up in a war between fallen angels and death gods.
1. Chapter 0

NOTE: This is a crossover with a novel called _The Raggedyman_ by S.L. Whitaker. It can be found on Amazon and Kindle, depicting the adventures of the Prince in more detail. Now without further adieu, I bring forth my crossover between the two worlds!

* * *

><p>December 25th, Japan.<p>

"We're counting on you, Penber."

"Sir, I'm already on the Kira case. Shouldn't this file be somewhere safer?"

Penber was in a hotel near the Yagami household in order to work closer to his potential suspects, though after that fateful bus ride, he was certain that Light Yagami was not Kira. He had hoped to spend Christmas with his fiancée, but the night before America had suffered one of its biggest calamities since 9/11. Riker's Island Prison had its biggest riot and over 10,000 convicts had escaped.

One in particular had the FBI more concerned about their whereabouts instead of Kira.

"If we didn't think that these two freaks could be somehow connected, we wouldn't be giving this to you. There are too many unexplained things going on with both of them, so the Riker's Island Raggedyman must be put under L's notice."

"We're working as close as we can to the Kira Task Force, Agent Thompson, but I highly doubt we have sufficient evidence to link the two."

"Regardless if he is potentially linked to the Kira case or not, these files cannot be found by prying eyes. We are sending them in your direct care. Everyone has been looking at the confidential files of everyone we have at Rikers and right now what we have on the Riker's Island Raggedyman can not fall into the wrong hands. Am I clear, Penber? The coincidences about the start of the Kira killings to weird events happening around this kid are too much."

Penber sighed at his colleague through the Skype chat and looked at the mailed package of files in front of him.

"I'll let L know what you guys think, but I really think you are grabbing at straws on this one. What does a young man who stitches bodies together and raised by a cult have to do with Kira?"

"You wanted potential leads... three of the cultists out of the names we released are believed to have been killed by Kira. If nothing else, keep the files for the sake of national security."

"I'll do that. If something comes up between the two, I'll let you know."

Ending the call, Penber leaned back in his chair. The entire world seemed to be going straight to hell in a hand basket in a matter of a few months. The Rag Doll Murders in America were the only the beginning, and finding the cult responsible for the deaths of hundreds of homeless went under the radar until they found a pair of hands stitched together like a spider. The raid on the old mansion where they were hiding on the Long Island sound had trip wires and homemade bombs littering the premises. They made their money by selling organs of their victims to the black market, but their real goal was raising the Antichrist. It was their would-be Antichrist, the Riker's Island Raggedyman, that would bring the world into controversy because of his psychopathic tendencies.

_Well... they would be a prime target for Kira... particularly The Prince._

Thinking over his colleagues decision over a cup of coffee, he opened the files to see what they had on the Prince. As more pages were flipped through, the more his eyes widened in disbelief. Penber shut the file abruptly after getting deeper into the FBI's involvement with the Rag Doll Murder case.

_Un... Unbelievable! Why did we do this?!_

Taking a deep breath and holding his head, he leaned over his laptop with his elbows on the table, shutting his eyes tightly as tears started to fall from his eyes.

"Dear god... What... what has America come to?"

* * *

><p><em>New York...<em>

It was certainly a dragons nest, and he could hear their roars from outside! He was oblivious to the concept of "airports", but he had figured out that people put paper into boxes in order to pass through gates. His diamond gray eyes looked through his distorted view of the world, seeing puppets walk to and fro, most with large boxes on wheels. His ruby red locks bobbed behind him as he took in the noisy atmosphere. Placing his fingers to his lips in confusion, he looked around for one of his Maskers.

In his sight, he saw three of them following closely behind him, slithering masses of black with strange white masks on their face. One of them was hovering over a weeping woman, whispering nothings in her ear as the Prince walked by. It paused from its duty to slither over to the Prince, bowing as best as it could to its would-be master. The Prince simply nodded to the being before tilting his head inquisitively.

_My Prince... there has been a change of plans with the King of Illusions... _

"Oh? Am... am I not to get my birthright?"

_There is a terrible man in a land far away who has a book of incredible power. His Majesty needs the book in order to solidify your rule over the world._

"Why is he so terrible? What is this book? Is it about God? I've already seen that book!"

_No, your highness... he breaks puppets without a second thought. Those who you are going to rule are becoming frightened of this man who believes himself to be able to rule over this world. Your world._

"Another Prince?! How absurd! I am the one chosen by the King of Illusions!"

The other maskers put a finger across the lips of their masks, making a "shoosh" noise to the Prince. Looking startled, he looked around the area to see if anyone else had been listening on to his talking. He had forgotten for a moment that only he had the "Diamond Eyes" and able to see everything whereas puppets eyes were dull. They could not see the Maskers, but could hear his side of the conversation. Seeing that nobody seemed to mind that he was talking to himself, or just busy to get to their flight, he shrugged and started walking. The Masker giggled for a moment, with his three friends following him.

_Command us... we will open the way for you! You will ride one of these great beasts to the great land of Japan._

"Let it be so, Maskers!"

The lights began to flicker at the security area as the Maskers led the Prince. Two maskers took The Prince by the hand and the Prince vanished from view. The power around the area stopped as well as the cameras around the area. Through the metal they went on the other side of reality, all the way to the terminal area. They hid the Prince behind a corner before they reemerged from the other side. As soon as they returned, the lights flickered on and the machinery started working. One of the Maskers pointed to the plane and another Masker distracted a man whose phone went out of service. His passport and ticket were sitting on the table next to him as he was turned away.

_Allow us to deceive them for you so that you might catch a ride with those pieces of paper._

"W...wait! We're going to ride the... d... dragon?!"

The two Maskers slapped their hands to their faces as the Prince looked at the talking one with pure horror in his eyes. The Talker made another shooshing noise with his fingers, motioning for the Prince to quiet down.

_It is safe, Your Highness... trust us! Just give us the command._

"Alright... but if I get eaten alive..."

Pointing to the man, the two Maskers made themselves slightly present... enough to once again fiddle with the man's reception. The Talker motioned the Prince to take his things and the Prince swiftly snatched them and walked away. One of the Maskers pointed at a line going through a giant door. As the line got nearer and nearer to the great beast outside, the Prince got more and more nervous.

When it was his turn, one of the Maskers jumped on the back of the stewardess puppet who was checking people's names. Her eyes widened for a moment before the possession took completely over the woman. The possessed woman politely checked off the boarding pass and smiled at her passenger. Walking down the hallway, the Prince held his breath as he entered the strange door.

Where he expected to find a dragon, he found himself in a box with a lot of seats where puppets sat at. Confused out of his mind, the Maskers led him to his seat. The cushiness of the thing took him by surprise. Opening his mouth in a big yawn, he decided that after escaping that nasty place that some nap time was in order. Sleeping soundly on the plane, the Maskers made certain that those seated next to him were moved to first class by possessing the flight attendants. Making certain that all was as it should, the flight to Tokyo would take the Prince far far away... and potentially make their true master more powerful.

* * *

><p>December 27th, Yamanote Line<p>

Penber clutched his chest as the door remained open, dropping his suitcase behind him. It bounced open, spilling its contents near the door. The hooded figure behind him quirked an eyebrow and picked up a thick file from the fallen suitcase as the FBI agent writhed on the ground. Realizing that Kira was picking up the files on the Riker's Island Raggedyman, he tried to reach the door in vain as the man in the hooded jacket tipped his head up to allow Penber a good look. Blood dripped from the corner of Penber's mouth as he fought the inevitable as hard as he could, seeing the face of Light Yagami looking down at him with a look of utter distain. The door closed and the subway left, the last of Penber's life ebbing away.

Curious as to why this file was so important to the impudent American, Light got off at the next station, hiding the files in the giant front pocket of his coat. Making certain nobody was following him, he made his way home within an hour. Once there, he passed Ryuk who had been munching on several apples on Light's bed, kicking back and relaxing.

"Heheheh... whatcha got there?"

"Penber seemed to panic when this file fell out of his briefcase... It's likely important to the Kira case."

"Better burn it" Ryuk suggested.

"Not before I know what America's plans are. It might hold the names of more agents that need to be taken care of."

Light opened the files. Curious about the file, he had all the names and faces of everyone involved in the Rag Doll murders... but one name was missing. Taking a picture of The Prince and looking it over, he continued reading the files of the would-be Antichrist as well as the names of people helping him such as his doctor and his attorney who was going for a plea of insanity.

Ryuk paused from his apple-eating to stare at the picture of The Prince for a moment, looking over Light's shoulder with a gaze of pure... interest.

"Now that's something I don't see every day" Ryuk commented of the picture.

"Hmm?"

"Nothing..."

Not believing the "death god" for a moment, Light decided to put down the picture and pick up the final part of the file marked "CLASSIFIED".

**Operation Crimson Sovereign.**


	2. Chapter 1

Light looked over the file called Operation Crimson Sovereign. His eyes widened slightly, but were only half surprised at what he found there.

"Ryuk... tell me about demons. Obviously you said that my soul won't go to heaven or hell, which means both have to exist."

"Tricky bastards" Ryuk replied. "Demons and Shingami are two different species. Unlike us Shinigami, they need humans to do their dirty work for them, acting as a medium between the two worlds. Even us Shinigami can't see them unless they manifest their power into this world. We usually leave one another alone. We know about one another, but because us Shinigami kill people before their time, they like the fact that we send more people to hell."

"So is it true about making contracts with a demon?"

"Oh yeah, but I doubt they would want to make one with you. You're not going to hell."

"No... I'm happy with my power. I've already sold my soul to become the god of this world. Unlike the original God, I won't make the mistake of allowing the devil to get a foothold anywhere. Even in America."

"Oh _this_ I gotta read..."

Operation Crimson Sovereign; the blueprints of making the ultimate soldier out of a legion-possessed host. Even one demon in possession of a human bring would bring super strength, stamina, and increased aggression. Test subjects of normal humans were unable to control the demon in them, lacking the authority to command them. Over the past thirty years, several attempts were made by the American Government to find out what in human genetics permitted the soul to exist in the body. Instead of human breeding, which would take several generations, a new project was created to create a human homunculus capable of bridging the gap between the spirit realm and the human realm. Because the husk was created by man and not God, it was a more acceptable vessel for demonic activity, and past results of subjects have displayed great feats of supernatural force and several are capable of leveling entire cities.

In 1983, a pair of twin homunculi were created, the children sent to a government-funded cult whose sole purpose was to cut a covenant with Satan so that America would harbor the supernatural force to take out its aggressors. The cult, however, took a different direction than what the Government had dictated, becoming a religion whose purpose was to bring Jesus back to judge mankind by hastening the worlds destruction of itself. One of the twins, whom they dubbed The Prince, was to be their Antichrist by being given medication which stunted his growth, making him a child-like young adult in both mind and body. When the time came, he was to be given authority over all the legions of hell and shot up with growth hormones to cause him to go insane and command the world to be destroyed.

So the government who created this monster took responsibility and tried to stop the cult before the weapon they were tasked to raise would destroy his own creators. After busting the cult in late October, the government made efforts to try and rehabilitate their weapon so that he might one day become a willing soldier.

"Wooooooow" Ryuk swooned. "Luci-boy's got a lot on his plate, doesn't he?"

"This is beyond evil" Light growled.

Light reminded himself that his mother and sister were downstairs as he moved to bang his fist against his desk, just stopping short by an inch. His fist shook as it hovered above the wood.

"They knew what they were getting into! And this _Prince_?! He's one of the fugitives that escaped Rikers Island?!"

Taking the names and the photographs in the file, he took out the familiar obsidian notebook in which he had sentenced three of the cultists to death already.

"I knew this was a great evil to the world from the stories on the news, but now... now I need to focus my attention on America. These animals need to be put down. And once I get the name of their Antichrist, I'll kill him too and become a savior across international boundaries. Killing the cultists will also let them know that I am aware of their plans, scaring them even further into submission after I destroyed all of their agents who came looking for me."

"Sounds like a plan... though you're probably going to piss off Satan in the process."

"Let him tremble before the new god."

Ryuk raised a brow at this ambitious human. Previously, Light had simply wrote "suicide" in the Death Note for the three cultists that had been announced. The others he wrote out in specific gory detail. Figuring that the various cultists were separated or out there, he started down the list of humiliating and sinister deaths. One smashed a window and cut himself up with the broken glass. Another used his teeth to carve his thumb before biting off his own tongue. The one which would puzzle the police, however, was the death of Faustina Wolf. Smiling sweetly, she stabbed her own eye out during early breakfast, inserting the thing through her eye socket and into her brain.

She slowly began to melt like a candle, her bones snapping from the weight and becoming weak. All her fellow inmates fled from the scene as all that remained of her was her clothes, the fallen fork, and a pile of blood and goo on the floor.

Closing the file, Light took the picture of the Prince and placed it into the folds of the Death Note. Looking to his side, he gazed at the shredder for a few moments before putting the files in piece by piece.

_They'll know Kira has these files. I've scanned it on my computer and have a driver to hold it all in if I ever need to reference it again. Particularly with the possibility that the American Government could have made more than one of them, I have to assume that people who have made deals with the devil will come after me. _

Light finished shredding the files and put his computer driver on his keychain.

"Ryuk, do demons have similar bargains like the ones for the Shinigami Eyes?"

"Man, those things have all sorts of bargains! So long as there is a human to help them manifest into the human world, the sky is the limit."

"So... I have to assume that anything is possible with this Prince."

"You know, if you had the Shinigami eyes, you'd at least be able to see them when they manifest their power."

"Ryuk, I've already told you-"

"Fine! Fine! Good luck trying to fight them off."

Shutting the Death Note, Light's expression was one of deep concern. He had never had to deal with anything supernatural in his quest until now. He paused long and hard, thinking of all the potential angles he would have to deal with.

_They need a human to manifest, though. This Prince, however, isn't quite human and can command these demons at will it seems. Fortunately I haven't run across anyone else with this kind of power. That doesn't mean they don't exist. Interesting. Very interesting._

Light rubbed his temples and sighed. He took the shredded documents along with the rest of trash and nonchalantly took the trash downstairs, putting it in the garage.

"Mom, do you know where the duster is?"

His mother replied from across the way in the kitchen.

"In the closet! Cleaning your room, Light?"

"Yeah! All those potato chips I've been eating lately have been stacking up. I've become a real pig from all this studying."

"Don't work too hard, Light. Even geniuses need a rest."

Taking the duster from the closet, he took a deep breath, trying to relax his mind with cleaning up his room. Dusting off all the mess from the top of his bookshelf, he tried to imagine what it would be like having a demon against him. For now, however, he would just wait and see how all of this mess would pan out.

* * *

><p><em>Meanwhile...<em>

All of these people speaking jibberish, and all these bright lights and funny pictures were simply getting to The Prince. Sleeping on the park bench, his long hair dripped over the side as he sighed. The Maskers had possessed a few people into bringing him some food and water, so he was well taken care of, but the shock of all of these new puppets was just too much.

"Oh good! I get to practice my English!"

Upon hearing a familiar language, The Prince perked his head up and looked over at a puppet in a strange puffy dress with long stripped stockings and tall heels. He thought that he was in paradise as the puppet girl bowed to him, her long blonde hair flowing to her sides in pigtails. In the world outside of the Prince's sight, however, the model was in her jogging clothes.

"My name is Misa Amane! What's yours? You look a little lost!"

"Oh, but I am! Ah... name?"

Misa paused for a moment giving the ruby-locked man in the black leather jacket a look of confusion.

"Ah... did I say that right? Your name? What do they call you?"

"Eh..."

The Prince returned the confused look to the puppet princess before him and sat up in the park bench.

"Uhm... call me whatever you would like!"

"Oh, you're cute! Uhm... I'll call you Aki! That means 'red' in Japanese! Do you know much Japanese? I love your hair!"

"Japanese? Er... well, thank you for liking my hair! I am glad someone finally recognizes me as something worth notice. My paper and metal circles are different here."

"Huh?"

Misa watched as "Aki" took out the paper and metal spheres... American Money.

"Uhm... you know you can go to the money exchange place, right?"

"Money?"

Misa's face turned sour as she blinked at the strange man in front of her.

"Wow... I've heard of clueless Americans, but you take the cake! Don't worry! Misa-misa will take good care of you!"

The Prince's eyes lit up and he stood up from the bench.

"Ah! At last! A smart puppet! I will lead you by the arm, my pretty dear."

"Uh? Puppet? Now that's not nice! If it wasn't for your tone of voice, I'd slap you on the wrist."

"Wh... what's not nice about being a puppet? There are puppets everywhere! I am a Prince, my dear. Here to make certain that the puppets will always be played with and kept happy."

Misa's eyes twitched for a moment as she tried to wrap her head around what "Aki" was saying. Then again, she did like visual kei and poetry, so she figured it was just his way of trying to be romantic.

"Well... so long as you keep me happy, I guess! Hahaha!"

The model blushed and took "Aki" by the arm, the two walking down the street together. The young man was too cute and his intentions seemed more kind than creeper. None the less, she had to check to see what this guy had in mind. He was good-looking enough for a one-night-stand, but if he got too weird...

"Sooo... what exactly do you mean 'played with'?"

"Oh, brushing your hair, finding you lovely gowns to wear, making sure you are properly attended to; that sort of thing."

"Wow! I got a lot of clothes already! We could play dress up! We'll have to brush your hair, though. It's a little tangled! Maybe we could go shopping for you! You look nice, but I love being a fashionista! I'm usually so busy so I don't have time for my girlfriends."

"For taking care of a Prince, I am more than happy to play whatever games your heart desires. I truly needed an understanding puppet."

"Just so you know 'prince', I'm a princess! You better serve me too!"

"Princess? ... Puppets think they are royalty? ... Well, if they didn't have many Princes to rule over them, I suppose they would appoint their own leaders. Then again, only the highest of nobility would have recognized such a rare sight and taken it under their wing. For that, your highness, I thank you."

"You're... one roll short of a sushi tray, aren't you?"

"Sushi?"

Misa blinked at The Prince again, shaking her head and shrugging.

"Wow... okay, what _do_ you know about Japan and what are you doing here?"

"Nothing. Nothing whatever. Is Japan where I am?"

"Were you hit over the head and robbed?!"

"I just set foot on a flying box to make sure some ninny who likes breaking puppets doesn't conquer the world. Breaking things is not the way to rule people! This place is only secondary to what I have to do."

Stopping herself from walking, she looked at the Prince deep in the eyes with a look of incredulousness in them.

"If you're out to stop some evil idiot in a place you don't even know, then _of course_ where you end up is important! Geeez! What planet are you from anyway?"

"Of course I have 'planned it'! And the plan came from my mind. Silly princess."

"Oh God, you're so dumb, you're adorable... I hate it!"

"... Thank you."

Sighing with frustration, Misa bowed her head and shuffled her feet.

"Okay... tell ya what. I'll give you a job as my errand boy and teach you about Japan, okay? In return, you do everything I tell you. You can conquer the world later."

"Oh... I suppose. Learning what it is like to be a puppet is important in being a Prince. If I know where you come from, then I can understand why you break one another."

Patting "Aki" on the head appreciatively, Misa smiled at the weird, adorable. psycho and tilted her head.

"It's okay that you're a weirdo. You're a harmless weirdo. I've been having to deal with a lot of weirdos lately since I've become famous. Having a guy around me will help protect me! Let's go to my place so I can change out of these things and take a shower. Then we can go shopping and you can carry all my bags!"

"As you wish, Princess!"

The Prince bowed with a flourish to Misa who immediately went ga-ga eyed and giggled at her new pet.

"See! You're a quick learner!"


	3. Chapter 2

**_The Shinigami Realm..._**

Gelus stared and stared at his beloved Misa and this strange red head and threw down his pen in disgust.

"OOOOOOOH! This guy is really trouble! I just know it!"

Rem looked over her shoulder as she leaned against the giant skull, having watched Gelus and his various temper tantrums over this human girl. It had been entertaining to say the least, watching his deeply involved interest in this human. Walking over to the hole where Gelus had been watching, her eyes widened and she blinked in disbelief as she looked at the red-headed man she was giggling with in keen unadulterated curiousity.

"How... is that possible?"

"I don't know, but _wow!_ Is _he_ getting under my stitches!"

"Why?"

"He's handsome, he's suave, not even a few minutes and she's ga-ga over the guy even though he's talking like a-"

"Gelus! That's the only thing you're worried about? Did you get a good look at this man?"

"YES, I got a good look at him! I've been staring at him and his dangly red hair, and his flawless white skin and his-"

"You idiot!"

Pulling Gelus over back to the hole where they were watching, one thing finally came to him. His eyes widened and his fingers rested by his decayed lips.

"Oh! OH! ... What's this?! He... I ... _I can't see his name_!"

Both Shinigami fell silent as Gelus began to panic and paced in front of the hole, fluttering his tattered wings behind him. Rem kept staring into the hole.

_Who are you? You have no name?! What sort of trickery is this?_

"Ahhh AHHHH! I... I can't stand it! I bet _he's_ the one who ends her life! She's... she's so close! I... I need to tell the Shinigami King about this idiot!"

"And what will he do but sit on his throne and laugh at you, Gelus? Though I must say... he is a unique individual."

Rem pondered him and looked over her shoulder again at Gelus who was literally coming apart at the seams in distress. Two of his fingers came undone and fell to the ground as he cursed and picked them up.

"I'll go with you. I'm curious about him."

"Y... You will?! Oh Rem! You're the bestest Shinigami in the entire realm!"

And the two flew off to the Shinigami King's throne. The Old Man rested in chains on his throne, his massive visage and skull head offering an aura of dark power to those who were sensitive to such things. Raising his head at the two coming towards him, he leaned on one of his arms and reclined in his throne.

"Yy...y... Your Majesty! Oh great-"

"Old Man... there is a human on Earth whose name we cannot see" Rem stated. "We are curious. What does this mean?"

**_Hmmmmmmmm..._**

A pair of lights shone within the skull head, lighting and dimming as the ancient one spoke, his expression was that of boredom as he tapped his finger to his chin.

**_Curious, indeed... It is likely he was purposefully not given a name at his birth._**

"Th... that's it? What idiot doesn't name their child?!" Gelus screeched.

**_Who, indeed, Gelus... who indeed... it is not the first or will be the last time a Death Note fell into human hands. Perhaps someone who knew about its existence decided to protect their progeny from its power. They meant for this to happen, for even if his father or mother cared not for him in order to give him a name, a name would have been given to him by a caretaker. Even if someone were to give him a name now, it would need to be bound in the human realm that it was his name for it to show through our eyes. Whatever is bound on earth is bound in heaven. What we see is their true name._**

"Bound... so it has to be his _legal_ name."

**_Correct. This makes certain that people who legally change their name such as in wedlock are current in the eyes of the Death Note. _**

"Oooooh! This infuriates me!"

"Calm down, Gelus."

"No! I'm gonna find a loophole in this somewhere if it's the last thing I do! Nobody should be able to cheat death so easily!"

**_He has a point... this is a loophole which mildly draws my concern. If he gets married and gains a name there, then it would be a legal name. Or if someone took him as his guardian and filed for a name, then it would begin to show through the Shinigami Eyes. _**

"Well, he's not getting married! That I am certain!" Gelus whined.

Rem rolled her eyes, but contemplated the course of action needed to be taken in order to make this strange young man a potential victim of the Death Note. The two of them left the presence of the Shinigami King and Gelus continued to make plans. Rem, however, quietly wondered what Ryuk was doing in the human world, more out of curiosity than concern.

* * *

><p>December 28 ...<p>

Misa had so much fun with her new boy toy the night before. He was strange, but he took care of her like a champion and that's all that mattered to him. Explaining things to him and taking the role of his mentor really cheered her up. With the money she was making as a model, she could afford to spoil someone to her liking. Particularly someone who wasn't a total deadbeat! It took a little effort to show him how to do the laundry, and clean the house, but this Prince really knew how to get into his work!

For the Prince, it was only natural that he would keep the abode he was living in clean. His room was spotless in his gaze! There were also so many mysteries involved including the strange magical box which showed pictures and made noise. There were also strange portraits which showed the puppet as a Princess! It was no wonder these puppets were so confused. Behind their world of glass televisions and photographs, they looked no different than Princes! It was sad that only he knew the difference. Misa reclined on her couch, dressed in dangly cross earrings and a fluffy red plaid skirt and black tank top. Crossing her legs, she showed off her long knee-high black chain boots.

Turning the channel to the news, her interest in the Kira case was swelling with the rest of the world. Leaning back and drinking a diet soda, she listened as the news anchor described how one of America's worse cases, the Rag Doll Murders, had every suspect murdered by Kira. All but one were accounted for... a mysterious red-head, who looked very familiar, had been missing since the riots.

Misa spat out her soda in shock, looking at the television with wide eyes. After a few pictures of the Riker's Island Raggedyman, the Japanese had their own name for him; Raguda. Slowly turning around, Misa blinked at the Prince who had been humming to himself while folding Misa's laundry. He didn't even admire or flinch when her panties were politely folded to the side.

"Uhm... Aki" Misa asked with a waiver in her voice. "Have you... ever killed anyone?"

"Killed? What does that mean?"

Misa shook her head at the Prince in frustration and jumped from her couch. Grabbing the Prince's arm, she pointed at the television as a picture of him went across the news. The Prince blinked at the strange box, curious about the vision of his face. He had seen himself in a mirror before, but he looked different in the eyes of this box. He was a lot more handsome than that! Scrunching his nose at the box, he tried to understand what the box was saying in that funny gibberish called Japanese. The newscast then started showing the pictures of the others in his cult.

"Is that _you_ on the television?!"

"It might be."

"Okay, so you don't know what killing is?!"

"Is it bad?"

"_Yes! _Unless you're killing someone to protect someone or yourself, it's like, the worst thing ever!"

"W... what is it? Is it like breaking?"

"_Breaking_?! Are you seriously going back to that stupid puppet talk at a time like this?!"

"These people threw me into a closet. I found a way out of that closet and the puppets around me wanted to play breaking games. So I broke them and they were happy. I didn't break them beyond repair, though. If I did, I would turn them into dolls."

"Okay, I kind of understand that puppets are people, but what are dolls?"

"Puppets with their strings cut. Why do I have to explain it all to a princess?"

"Okay... so killing is turning puppets into dolls. Breaking them beyond repair! Have you ever done that?"

"Oh no. The dolls I used to collect were willingly given to me."

"Wait, wha?!"

Misa released his arm and looked at him with confused and frightened eyes. The Prince returned her look of confusion to her, staring blankly and blinking innocently.

"Okay... uhm... just go back to folding my laundry. I'm going to play on the other glass box... thingie. The one with the keyboard."

"You puppets and your infatuation with glass. Pheh... well I'll finish this, but we better have some good games to play."

"Don't worry! We will!"

Misa put on her fake cheery personality and smiled at the Prince before rushing over to the computer in order to look up the Rag Doll Murders. Her eyes widened when she found that another name that he was called was "The Prince" yet no information she could find could get his name. Those following the case since the past October had been keeping up with the information being leaked and the story being told about the kid being raised to be the Antichrist. After awhile, Misa calmed down, starting to understand what she was dealing with.

... A psychopath who had been manipulated all his life.

_Poor guy...he was raised to stitch bodies together and told they were dolls? Oh my God! These bastards deserved to die!_

... and the man was standing in her living room, calmly folding her laundry. She looked behind her at the man with pity in her eyes.

_He really doesn't know anything! Anything at all! And... they're just gonna lock him up if they find him..._

Making up her mind, she left her computer chair and went over to the Prince.

"Hey, Aki! I wanna play dress up with you! I'm gonna show you EGA style! Elegant Gothic Aristocrat! I'll even put make up on you! How does that sound?"

"Aristocrat! That sounds wonderful for a Prince! But I will be a good servant and finish my chores first."

"You're such a sweetie!"

"No, I promised to play the servant game with Your Highness, and I always try to finish one game before starting another!"

Misa smiled, and took the Prince by both hands. The young man blushed while having his hands held.

"Don't worry, Aki. Misa-misa is gonna teach you everything about the world, okay? You're gonna be like my little brother. We won't let those twisted idiots ruin your life. In return, I need someone to protect me? Burglars came into my house and killed my parents. I really need someone in the house to watch out for stuff like that."

"Parents?"

"You know what an aristocrat is, but you don't know what parents are?!"

"They sound like very important puppets in your life. Oh! ... You mean the king and queen?"

The Prince's eyes turned dark as he clutched Misa's held hands.

"They broke puppet royalty beyond repair?! That is beyond forgiveness!"

"Yes... yes it is! And they got away with it too."

"What is it with this world and their fascination with breaking?! Don't they realize how much it hurts the others around them?"

Folding Misa's hands together, the Prince looked upon the pretty princess in front of him. Though his sight, she was a beautiful mannequin doll made of the finest clay.

"Nobody will break you, Princess! I'll have my maskers see to that myself!"

"Maskers?"

The moment Misa appeared to get used to his insanity, the Prince appeared to throw another curb ball at her. Her face lowered slightly.

"I really don't get you, but I'll try..."

"Well, I find you and your world very confusing to me as well, dear Princess."

"Call me Misa, okay?"

"Me sa chan? Why?"

"That's my name, silly!"

The Prince looked dumbfounded and released Misa's hands to scratch his head.

"Is... that why you call me Aki? Is that a name?"

"Yes! Now you're getting it!"

"Ah... my head."

Misa grabbed the Prince's hand and smiled, taking him to the next room.

"I still have some brown I wanna try for your hair! We'll make it look like Cherry Soda!"

"I know about cherries but-"

"Hehehehe! I know what I'm buying _you_ for lunch!"


End file.
